Through the Shell
by Lenhart-F
Summary: I think it's safe to assume some of you disliked the ending Fairy Tail had. Don't you think it deserved way better? That's why I attempted to write something to pose as an epilogue to the main events of Fairy Tail, telling you what happened to each of the members of the strongest team. It contains most of the pairings you already know.


**It took me some time, but I managed to get this one done. I believe everyone was kind of disappointed with the way Hiro decided to end Fairy Tail, well, I surely was. He was known as the crowd pleaser, famous for his fan service and then when he should have given us a chapter filled with fan servicing, he delivered such a poor chapter with only half of the fan servicing. No kisses, no solid relationships, no time skips to show us where the guild went after their last battle; I didn't like it at all! So, I'm here to present you a chapter as I think it should have gone. It will include all the famous pairings, but some will stand out more than the others and I don't think I need to mention Gray is my favorite character, so even though he is not the main character in this fic, he'll steal the spotlight from Natsu. You were warned.**

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 **Disclaimer:** I do not own Fairy Tail or the lyrics used here. Fairy Tail belongs to Hiro Mashima and the song Love Story belongs to Taylor Swift.

I don't think Taylor Swift would mind lending her song to Mira, I mean, who would say no to Mira?

* * *

 **Through the Shell**

* * *

This is the story after the story, or the story before the story, or even the story itself. It will be short, but it will last decades, even though some may not witness its progress. This is the story of my guild; the story of Fairy Tail and all the great mages I came to know and love. I was still a girl when some of them became legends and not even born when they began to conquer their fame.

As I said before, I love them, all of them, each of them in a different way. Be careful though, love is a word that should not be taken lightly, so when I say I love them, I really mean it. I will show you how appealing and attractive they can be, and how captivating they become after you learn how to look through their shell. Because honestly, if you judge by their shell, you'll say they're a bunch of weirdos hanging around and trying to make a living out of people's requests.

My name is Asuka Connell and I'm sixteen-years-old, daughter of Alzack Connell and Bisca Connell. Age hasn't caused a drastic change in my appearance, you see, I still wear the same haircut I used to wear when I was a child, but my body has grown. My parents aren't the most impressive mages in the guild and they know that. They tell me it's important to have people to look up to; well I surely do. I look up to the strongest team in Fairy Tail since I was a child. Team Natsu is amazing, although I disagree with the name choice, still, it's their name.

This… is the story about team Natsu, but not all of it, just what happened to them after their most recent battle. I think it's safe to assume you all know that Lucy Heartfilia won an award for her book, but you see, that happened a couple of years ago. That one book she'd been writing since she joined the guild gave her a reason to celebrate for at least one month.

Lucy was the last newcomer of the strongest team. Sometimes I wish I was her.

She was once a gullible teenage whose only concern was to be accepted into the guild. She was never as amazing and mesmerizing as the rest of her team and would fall victim to her enemies more often than not. Some said she was only getting in the way. Ask me, what's so good about Lucy then? If you expected me to answer 'her heart', then you're sadly mistaken. Lucy had a different kind of strength in her, she held an enormous quantity of magic power and the best control over it. Think about a type of magic that requires smarts, tons of magic power and superb magic control, Lucy is your mage.

The award brought her great joy, but such joy was very short-lived.

Which brings us to the next piece of our puzzle, Natsu Dragneel! Yes, Natsu and his fired-up attitude. I heard he said that quite often when he was about to storm into battle. He wasn't afraid of any foe, or any threat. Always the first to head on and the last to give up; scratch the last part, Natsu never gave up. He became a legend, someone whose feats spread across the continent. It became obvious how ridiculously strong he was when people started comparing him to Gildarts. When he heard such comparison, Natsu's motivation to reach Gildarts turned into one to surpass him.

It was then that Natsu and Happy gathered what they could carry and parted on a mission that would take at least one hundred years to be completed. You may be starting to understand Lucy's short-lived joy now, aren't you? Not yet, huh? Well, let's say Lucy and Natsu have a history together. Yes, yes… that kind of history.

Moving forward we have the most splendid, handsome, heartbreaker and magical member of all; Gray Fullbuster. Sensei was Natsu's rival and one of his best friends, but this is far from describing master. His creativity was like an unlimited source of awesomeness. Tricky, smart, resourceful and resilient are good words to define my mentor, but perfect-in-every-way will also suffice. The look in his enemies' faces when they thought they managed to crush his skull right between their bare hands, just to realize they hit a dummy! It was priceless. He had been in a dead end more than once, but always found a way to overcome his limits and defeat his opponents.

Gray-sensei followed after his former master's footsteps and took an apprentice. Guess who his favorite apprentice is! Yes, that's me! My parents were a bit annoyed when they found out I wasn't that much into guns, but what can I do? I fell in love with ice modeling the moment I saw it. Erza agreed with me when I said that his magic was the most beautiful, but that happened when Erza was still one of us. Oh, I take it that you haven't heard the news yet.

Makarov's departure.

Our previous master passed away and left us a difficult choice to make. The obvious answer to said choice would be Macao, since he was once the master of Fairy Tail, but he refused to take the position stating that he was too old for it.

The next in line was Erza Scarlet.

Erza was one of the most loyal and hard-working mages of Fairy Tail. She was an ultimate case of social-awkwardness, but when her guild's safety was at stake, no one would stand up as straight as she did. Erza was a bastion, she had many titles, titles she built during her battles, the most regular being 'Titania'. Why did they call her Titania? Oh please, because that's what her enemies saw when they faced her, a titan! She was unstoppable, unbelievably strong and sturdy.

She would have been a great master. However, she left the guild after receiving word that Jellal was forgiven for his crimes and released. The guild was divided into two lines of thinking: the first appointed her as a deserter; the second stated that she had left on a secret mission to help the guild from outside, sensei seems to agree with the later. Even so, there is a third theory, but this one is known by her closest friends only.

Can you guess what this third theory is?

With Natsu absent on his mission and Erza as a possible elope, the guild members came up with Gray's name to fill the seat.

His response was quite energic.

"Me? You guys wouldn't know what a good leader is if its qualities hit you in the head."

Sensei took the next few minutes to make me wish I was Lucy. Lying back on a guild chair with those dreamy eyes of his, master pressed on.

"Lucy is our best bet, I mean, not only she is smart and intelligent, she had demonstrated how determined she can be when she needs to. She loves this guild as much as any other member, or maybe even more. She's organized and has a great focus on her objectives… hence why she managed to write a novel while having to fight dark mages while your first choice was too busy spitting fire at every obstacle we had."

Everyone's reaction was to cheer as they threw the poor celestial mage in the air. They turned to Lucy as she had suddenly become some kind of messiah. It was settled, Lucy would be the new master, linking it or not… probably not.

Juvia wasn't that fond of Gray's speech though.

By the way, all that happened a while ago. Coming back to the present, people have rearranged and moved on with their lives and their past decisions.

Now facing the guild doors, I inhaled deeply before pushing them open. I faced my guild with great enthusiasm. All those familiar faces and their loving expressions. Even with all the fighting and bickering, Fairy Tail was home and shelter. I love Fairy Tail, and I still don't take the word lightly.

As soon as I walked inside the guild, I could see my parents trading whispers in a not so secret manner. I greeted them and walked past their giggling selves.

" _Something is up."_

It didn't take much longer for me to notice what was actually happening there. I saw a trembling Romeo in the corner of the room. By his side, Elfman spouted some non-sense regarding manly men and wooing, coupled with more non-sense about lifting heavy objects to impress the ladies.

Right back at what I said to you guys, you have to see through their shell, I repeat, through their shell.

Romeo Conbolt always walked after Natsu's shadow, when the salamander left, it caused a deep impact on him. Romeo grew up to be rather indecisive when it comes to women. For some reason, people seem to think we look good together and well, you know what happens when old people try to play cupid, don't you? I mean, he is cute and all, and I really appreciate his kindness and how he cares for me, but that's it... I guess?

I walked past the macho duo and they greeted me, each in their own way. Ahead of me, I could see Juvia - Oh! Have I mentioned? Juvia is pregnant. I know, right? Hard to believe. Her belly is like huuuuuuge, emphasis on huge.

"You go girl!" I shot at her as I passed by. "Only twenty-nine to go!" And then we shared a high five.

Her voice reached me from the distance. "Not really! Only twenty-seven to go," said the water bearer. "Juvia has triplets."

I had to hold my jaw for a moment.

Lucy was resting her head on the bar while Mirajane mixed something inside those enchanting cups of hers. One sip of whatever she gave you and all your problems would call it a truce, then come back later in full steam. Just the other day, Cana offered me a whole barrel of its content and now, whenever I drink some of it, I suddenly feel like hugging everyone and calling Romeo in the middle of the night. Does that sound familiar to any of you? Wait, please don't answer.

"Master!" I called while approaching our celestial spirit mage.

Lucy replied with an annoyed glance. "Drop the formalities, Asuka. Call me Lucy like everybody else," she switched to a seating position.

"What's with the gloomy attitude?" I asked casually while taking a seat next to her and Cana. Did I need to mention Cana was there? I don't think so.

The card mage dropped her barrel over the counter and threw me a challenging stare. "It's Lucy alright, she's probably dying to sink her agony in alcohol, but her seat as guild master is getting in the way."

Lucy maintained the annoyed expression and said nothing to defend herself, instead, she sighed and smashed a hand on the counter with full force.

"And how am I supposed to stay tight when my boyfriend decided to leave the guild in a mission that might as well take a lifetime to be concluded? Damnit!"

The commotion was now up and running.

"When he finally showed some kind of affection towards me, why couldn't he take me with him?"

Cana was quick to answer. "Something about having to do that by himself; this, or Happy is a better traveling companion than you are," she finished before pouring another generous sip of her wine.

I had to intervene when I saw a dangerous vein popped on Lucy's forehead.

"I don't think that's how it went, really!"

Cana laughed to her heart's content. "Natsu is just like my old man, he will realize he's done no good and come back with his dragon tail between his legs, mark my words, Lucy."

Mirajane popped out behind the counter and said those three magic words:

"What will you have?"

Ok, that's four.

"Give me the same she's drinking," I ordered pointing at Cana. "But in a cup, please."

Mirajane turned her attention to Lucy and waited for a reply.

Lucy fought an internal war against her moral standards before surrendering her castle to the enemy. "You know what? Makarov would approve, bring the wine, Mira!"

"That's more like it!" Cana cheered.

"Yeah! Show him you don't need a man to have a great time!"

"Men!" Elfman's voice roared through the guild.

I was excited to see how a drunken Lucy would look like.

We drank and sang without restrictions for a while and it was one of the best times I had in Fairy Tail, but then…

A weeping Lucy sniffed and sobbed while explaining the hardships of her relationship. "How… how am I supposed to wait this long? It feels like waiting for Gajeel to be sensitive!" She shouted.

Levy waved a small hand in the distance. "We're still here, Lucy!" Said the girl accompanied by Gajeel.

Back to the drama, Lucy proceeded with her soap opera. "I'm giving a reward to whoever finds that bastard! Anyone up for a considered amount of jewels?" She announced to the whole guild.

Lucy stood on a bench, one hand resting on the left side of her waist, the other holding an accusing finger against Nab Lasaro; the man who was always waiting for the special job.

"Nab! I found your special job! Answer the call of your master!"

Suddenly startled, Cana raised both hands. "I got it, I got it. It's Hades! Nice impression, girl."

Mirajane pulled Lucy from her embarrassing act and hid her behind the counter. "Let's find you a good toilet so you can keep getting all that out of your chest… or your stomach, whatever comes out first," said the takeover mage in a gentle tone before disappearing into the kitchen.

Cana recovered her breath after an endless moment of genuine laughter "Oh man, I wish my eyes could record."

"Not funny, Cana."

"Not funny at all," repeated Gray after me. He stopped by my side and pressed a firm hand on my shoulder. "What happened here?"

Music played in my ears for the first time that day. I heard his charming voice agreeing with me and had to fight the urge to pounce my master.

"Lucy had more than she could handle."

Gray face-palmed at the news. "What would that be? Two cups?"

"Three at best."

"Is she resting?"

I loved how master showed he cares about us. His tone was so soothing whenever he spoke in a serious, or concerned way. I am probably spacing out in front of him as he waits for my reply.

And then I came out with the standard answer for this kind of situation where you pay no attention to the words coming out of someone's mouth.

"Totally agree with you."

Cana faced my master and gave him the answer he was looking for. "She's with Mira in the toilet. I wouldn't go there if I were you, considering the face Lucy had before she left the bar, that place is prone to be a mess right now."

"You two will end up killing Lucy if you keep feeding her alcohol like that."

Gray left the bar heading to the table Juvia chose to spend her afternoon. He kneeled and ran a careful hand over Juvia's belly. They made eye contact for a moment and exchanged smiles. Master kissed his children from the outside and switched to a standing position to give his wife her highly anticipated share of affection. He leaned forward and placed a gentle kiss on her lips before taking a seat by her side.

I guess you can tell by how detailed my description was, but I tend to stare at their romantic interactions for longer than I should.

It's funny how Juvia can still blush every single time Gray touches her, well, I guess I would also blush if he touched me… wait, what am I thinking? Bad Asuka, bad girl! Now I'm blushing for real. Way to go.

I looked through the window behind my favorite couple and spotted the sun on its way down. The sunset always reminded me of Erza. I remember the stories Gray used to tell me about the girl in an armor avoiding him and his attempts to create bonds with her. Erza would often escape to a river far from the guild and watch the sunset from there.

My mood decreased from hype to brooding when I started to think about Erza. I missed her so bad. She was like an older sister when I was younger, now she would probably look more like a mom, but mom can't know that. My mother gets jelly very easily. Sometimes I think she didn't want me to grow up, as for the other times, I'm pretty sure she didn't.

Night fell and the atmosphere inside the guild seemed to change with it. The air was colder and people ceased the fighting, but the bickering never stopped; I mean, seriously, they never stop bickering.

Lucy, who had been resting in a separate room, finally returned to the land of the living, and judging by her face, she looked rested and refreshed; also, Mirajane deserves an award too, because that makeup on Lucy's face was miraculous.

"Ready to go again?" I provoked the blonde.

"I am never touching that thing again."

We shared a laugh and she returned to her schedule. A guild master is a busy person and Lucy was no exception. Frankly, sometimes I think she can't handle the workload, especially at night. She is often seen crying during the night over her boyfriend's mission. The laugh she just had was slowly being replaced by a sorrowful expression.

My line of thinking was rudely interrupted by the noise of the guild doors being pushed open. Behind the doors, I could see a woman in armor carrying a flying cat in one hand and holding a dragon slayer in the other. She threw them inside the guild before walking inside and closing the door behind her.

Everyone, including me, stood speechless while facing the scene. The whole guild was static and in deep silence. We could barely believe our eyes.

"Sorry for the delay," Erza finally spoke. "I went on a secret mission to bring this idiot back."

Repent, evil accusers! I knew Erza would never desert on us! My eyes were instantly watering and the tears started cascading. I know I say that a lot, but once again, I love Fairy Tail, exceptionally tonight, I am madly in love with Erza.

People noticed Natsu and Happy were still motionlessly lying on the floor and assumed they had _bumped_ their heads on their way back. Fear not, both of them are breathing! They were moved to another room to recover.

The guild started a celebration with music and, of course, more alcohol. The members gathered raising their cups and toasting to their friends' return. I walked across the guild, dodging flying chairs here and there in order to talk to Lucy. She ran to the room Natsu and Happy were designed to and there she stood, holding Natsu's hand and waiting for him to wake up.

I decided not to disturb.

The _tsundere_ cat, a.k.a. Carla, was concerned about Happy, but was afraid to show. I swear to god, I wish Happy would meet a nice Exceed and dump that arrogant prick. Sissy little thing.

Enough with the raging, I guess.

I was so happy to see the strongest team under the same roof again. I wanted to talk to Erza, but she became a celebrity for a day. It was hard to approach her without being run over, don't doubt me, I could easily be run over by those guys.

Meanwhile, Mirajane and Gajeel were already up on stage with guitars and keyboards in hand. Gajeel whispered something in Mira's ear, making the woman clap her hands in excitement. She couldn't stop smiling for a second, which isn't that unusual if you ask me, but still, something was off.

Mirajane touched the flying magical microphone twice to see if it was functional. "As a celebration of our friends' return, we'll perform something different today. I heard someone wrote a song called Love Story and I would love to play this song tonight, am I authorized, Mr. Author?"

No answer was heard.

"I will take it as a yes."

I ran my eyes back and forth trying to figure out who was the owner of the song, but no one stepped forward for the claim.

"Here we go!" Mirajane announced raising a fist.

"Wait!" Romeo's voice intervened. "Don't do this, Mira! Please."

Shock.

"You were not supposed to know this song," Romeo sent an angry glare towards Elfman who nervously shook his hands in denial. "I trusted you, and you gave it to her!"

"Well, it's too late now, we don't have any other songs in the repertory, right Gajeel?"

"True."

Gajeel was terrible at lying. His mouth would shake and his eyes always twisted in strange ways when he was about to lie. Levy was forever thankful for this piece of information.

The song started, but I was more interested in talking to Erza about her adventures and her mission. I managed to snatch a seat next to her when its owner went to the restroom.

"Erza!"

She looked at me with surprise in her eyes. "Asuka, you're taller."

"That's what happens when you spend years without seeing someone, they change!"

Her face shifted a bit and I could tell she was uneasy with the course our conversation was taking. "It had to be done," was all she said in response.

"I know, you shouldn't feel bad about it. How did you find them?"

During our conversation, I noticed Erza's interest in the song growing gradually, the lyrics in particular. I decided to give it a shot and returned my focus to the show.

More shock.

Mira sang beautifully, but the lyrics were… how should I put it?

"Juliet take me

Somewhere we can be alone

I'll be waiting

All you have to do is run

I'll be the Prince

And you'll be the Princess

It's a Love Story

Baby just say yes."

I got a lot of attention after the song was finished, a lot of unwanted attention I might add. I didn't know where to look, people were already calling me Juliet! The fact that the composer was named Romeo only contributed to the horror.

It had to stop! We couldn't go on like that. I walked past the people while they had their fun playing matchmakers and went straight after Romeo.

"Romeo!" I reached for his arm and stopped him before he could come up with a lame excuse to retreat. "Did you write that song… for me?"

He panicked and started stuttering. "I-I did…"

I closed my eyes and let my hand slide from his forearm to his hand. "Then why don't you say it to me clearly? What you feel about me."

He fixed his stare into my eyes for the first that night. "I like you, Asuka."

"Then I'm afraid this won't work."

Romeo's face saddened and I could hear everyone's disappointment at my answer with the _Awwwww_ they let loose.

"You know, liking just won't do, I need you to love me."

His frown switched upside down. "I love you," he declared, and then repeated it countless times until it became annoying.

"You mean it? You know how serious I am about love, don't you?"

He nodded obediently.

I looked around and noticed we earned an audience. "Dad, please close your eyes," I gave the warning shot because dad is overprotective.

"Asuka! Don't you da-"

I kissed Romeo and the guild cheered once more. It happened really fast, it had to be. We couldn't prolong a kiss in public, or my dad would kill Romeo and Macao would never stop grinning like an idiot.

"Now be a bit more confident, will you? Girls don't like hesitation, we like to feel safe and I want to feel safe when you hold me, so don't be insecure."

"I'll try my best," he affirmed like a soldier, a cute little toy soldier.

I smiled feeling something warm start to spread inside of me. "I know you will. Now Romeo, take me somewhere we can be alone."

I spent the rest of the night with Romeo sitting on a bench at the external area of the guild. My father would come out regularly to see if things weren't escalating too quickly because he says that's how I was born. When Romeo and I were not kissing I would be teasing him with his song, because his blushing face was the sweetest thing to witness.

We parted ways and I redefined the concept of missing someone. All I wanted to was for the night to end so I could see him again in the morning. I went to Fairy Hills and climbed the stairs rushing straight to my room. It was late, probably past midnight. I showered and changed into my pajamas. When I was about to slide under my blankets, I saw something through my window and my curiosity checked-in.

With a second look, I spotted Erza in a white dress holding a bouquet, she even wore a veil and all that wedding stuff. But she wasn't alone, there was a man with her, a man I've seen before in a few key events, but his name I knew well enough.

"What is Jellal doing here?" I mumbled.

He followed the same dress code Erza chose to go with.

Two hallucinating morons in the middle of the street pretending they are getting married. I bet some of you would portrait them like this, and I would normally agree with you, but look closely, through the shell, remember? You might not know, but their history goes way before I was even born. They went through a lot together in the tower of heaven, then, they took separate ways and had to struggle individually and now Jellal seems to be cured of his unhealthy self-punishment pursuit.

I couldn't hear them, but I could see how happy they were. Jellal lifted Erza's veil revealing her skin and her smile. She was so beautiful and he seemed to fully understand how gorgeous she was. Jellal picked a rose from her bouquet and put it in her hair, right behind her ear. The fugitive cupped her cheeks with his hands and pulled her into a deep kiss. They were lost in time for a while, just standing there enjoying each other's touch and presence.

They broke the kiss and took a step back to engage in conversation once more. Erza's smile slowly faded and Jellal's posture went stiff. He looked like he was trying to explain something to her, gesturing a lot and often saying the word, _please._

I can't read lips, don't bother me, this is the best I could do. I know he said please because we almost smile whenever we say the word. You did it, right? You said please just now. How easy can you guys be, I can't believe you fell for that.

Back to what really matters.

He placed his hands on her shoulders and gave her lips a small peck. She held the bouquet against her heart and began to cry. Erza exposed a few words of her own and he shook his head with a serious look on his face. Then it came out again; _please,_ he would keep repeating. Jellal backed away a few steps and turned his gaze in my direction.

Involuntarily, I hid under the window with an accelerated heartbeat. How in the world did he know I was there? Wait, it has to be a misunderstanding, he couldn't possibly know – a coincidence, that was it!

Convinced that they couldn't be aware of my presence, I slowly and carefully raised my head to peep through the window again. When my eye sights reached the couple, I saw them looking right back at me and chuckling as they did.

Nice one, stalker, you just got busted.

With embarrassment clear in my features, I revealed myself and waved at them. They returned the gesture and smiled at me. I was so relieved to know they didn't feel invaded. Jellal bid his goodbye and prepared to leave.

Erza held a stretched arm as if trying to reach for him. She slowly returned her arm and covered her face with her veil again.

I went to sleep before anything else could get my curiosity out of the safe boundaries.

* * *

The morning after I met Romeo on my way to the guild and almost had a heart attack when he took my hand in his. He changed his attitude and at least tried to look more confident.

Yes, it's working.

We reached the guild doors and stepped inside. My dad awaited us with a revolver in his hand, he wasted no time and pointed the metallic weapon to my poor Romeo, the later shoot his hands in the air to allege innocence. Dad lowered his gun with a satisfied smirk.

"That's the way I like it, hands where I can see them."

"Not funny, dad!"

"Let the children be," my mom came to my rescue. "Why are you trying so hard to make him uncomfortable?" She encircled an arm around him and started to drag my dad away from us, but not before we could hear his answer.

"Isn't that what fathers do to their daughters when they get boyfriends?"

Believe me, that made sense inside his head.

I locked eye contact with Gray for a few seconds and earned a light poke from Romeo's elbow. He wasn't that thrilled about me laying my eyes on my sensei, and I had to acknowledge his reasons.

"Sorry," was the best answer I could come up with.

I had to hold back all my urges to unleash the fangirl inside of me when I spotted the strongest team united in a single table. That was too much eye candy for me to handle, it was beyond my control, so I had to make up an excuse and hope Romeo would fall for it.

"Gray is my teacher… interaction with him is inevitable."

"I know," he answered in a weak tone. "But don't go past the student-teacher relationship, please."

"I would never," I kissed him on the cheek and walked to that infamous table where the legends gathered.

"Morning, guys!"

We spent hours talking about their adventures together. They seemed to like bragging about their feats and I only encouraged them. I was marveled, absolutely stunned with the amount of fighting those guys went through in their lives.

Lucy sat by Natsu's side leaning her head on top of his shoulder while Gray and Erza just sat there chilling with their coffee.

"You're such a jerk," Lucy let escape an insult contrasting with the scene she starred.

Alarmed with the sudden strike, Natsu could only stare in confusion.

"What did I do?"

It was so nice to see them together once more. It felt extremely good to be part of a guild with people like them.

Lucy crossed her arms over her chest in a threatening way. "You left on your stupid mission without telling me. I was lonely and I thought you abandoned me," our guild master was now clinging to Natsu's chest and hiding her rosy cheeks with his scarf.

"You would never let me go if I said what I was going to do."

"That's why you are a jerk!"

Don't argue with women logic, Natsu.

Now that they were all reunited, it took no longer than five minutes for Natsu to start suggesting they went on a mission together. Lucy rolled her eyes knowing she had an accumulated workload to deal with. Gray shrugged and laid back to rest on his chair. Erza contemplated the offer while savoring her strawberry cake.

Lucy hesitated. "I don't know, it's been a while since I went on a mission and I have too much work to do."

Natsu's voice came out as high as I remembered it. "Let's show the next generation what being a Fairy Tail mage means!" He threw a fist in the air and exposed a large grin.

"I have no objections," Erza declared. "I'm going ahead to pack my luggage."

With that, she left heading to Fairy Hills.

"I would need someone to watch over Juvia for me while I'm gone, and I can't risk staying away for too long, she would never forgive me if I lost our children birth."

"Children!" Exclaimed Natsu. "I can't believe you're going to be a father before I do," he admitted his defeat with gritted teeth.

Lucy took the opportunity to emphasize her point. She punched his chest and went on with the bashing. "That wouldn't have happened if you didn't go on solo missions with the intention of ever coming back, moron," the blonde panted due to excessive anger.

Natsu forced a smile and pulled his girlfriend into a kiss. "We'll have plenty of time to make lots of children," he whispered in her ear. "But we could practice a bit before that."

We could see a puff of steam leaving Wendy's head from another table.

Gray decided to give the subject a cold shower and confirmed the whole story with a nod.

"Juvia is having triplets by the way."

Still recovering from the rush of blood circulating in her head, Lucy followed after Gray's example and cast the juicy subject aside.

"I guess Levy could help me while I'm gone," proposed the blonde. "I'll go talk to her."

The celestial spirit mage stood and went after her target.

With each victory they had, I grew more anxious. One part of me wanted them to go out there and produce more delicious content for me to delight myself in when they returned, but the other half wanted them to stay so that I could spend more time fraternizing. Such a terrible dilemma.

"I guess I could ask Gajeel to look after Juvia," Gray presented his own solution. "They were already friends at Phantom Lord before joining Fairy Tail, or so I like to think, and he is a parent too now, I guess he's my best choice."

"Then it's settled! We part immediately," said the dragon slayer before sprinting his way to the request board.

"Out of my way, Nab!"

I loved seeing his enthusiasm, but I hated being left behind like that. They would probably pick an S-class mission and my parents would faint if they ever heard of me being associated with anything higher than B-class.

Gray poked me twice to call my attention. If anyone else did that to me, I would answer with a glare capable of producing laser beams, but my sensei had a free pass.

"Yes, master."

"What are you still doing here? Go tell your parents you're going on a mission."

The gates of heaven opened before me and I could hear the angels singing.

"I'm… going… too?"

"You certainly are. Get yourself together and start preparing for departure."

I paused and pouted at the thought of my dad telling me I can't go. My sudden mood swing didn't go unnoticed. Gray scanned my whole figure before getting on his feet.

"Come."

He offered me a hand to help me stand by his side. I took the helping hand and followed him to my parents' table.

"I'm taking this lady on a mission."

Gray stood straight while talking to my dad, I could only hide behind him as he spoke.

"What class?" My dad switched his attention to the ice mage in front of him.

"Natsu is picking, but it won't be anything hard, I can't afford to be away for too long."

Mom laughed at Gray's innocence. "You let Natsu pick the mission? Last time he went on that one hundred-years mission, are you sure that isn't too long?"

"A week at max."

Mom looked at me and smiled. "You know this is the team that never profits from their missions, right? They will tear the whole place apart and end up having to pay for the expenses instead of getting a reward."

Gray was quick to counter. "I'm changed. This won't happen again, I am a completely different person now, with responsibilities and all that."

Dad spoke his mind. "Having a child doesn't automatically make you a responsible person."

"I am a master and a father!" He stated proudly. "That has to count for something."

Dad covered mom's eyes and pointed an accusing finger at my teacher.

"Yeah, yeah, now go get yourself dressed, you exhibitionist."

He turned around to see me fully blushed and holding his clothes.

"You dropped this, sensei."

* * *

The train station was within sight and I felt my core beginning to heat up with excitement. I was one step away from finally going on a mission with the strongest team! We bought our tickets and headed to our train. The announcer lady spoke and the movement began, making my limbs falter for a moment. I was nervous, I was anxious and on the verge of panicking.

"Take a seat, darling, you look pale," Lucy suggested in a friendly way.

"It's her first time in a team," my teacher revealed. "You'll do just fine, I was the one who trained you after all."

Gray put his luggage inside the compartment and helped me with mine, Natsu did the same for Lucy and Erza had a heated discussion with one of the staff about maximum limit for luggage. Let's just say that one guy didn't have a nice trip.

We took our seats and I made sure I would be sitting beside Gray. Trust me when I say, I hold no ill intentions for Juvia and her relationship with Gray, and now that I have a boyfriend, I wouldn't dare touch another man. It's something about his presence that can be so reassuring. Whenever he said to me things would be alright, I could rest easy knowing that they certainly would.

Lucy and Natsu made themselves comfortable at their cozy cabin and Erza joined me and master on ours.

I drifted to sleep before long.

* * *

Unaware about the current time and place we were, I opened my eyes and hurried to close them again. I leaned over sensei's shoulder in my sleep and I wasn't about to give up that beautiful accident. He and Erza were conversating in a low tone, with regards to my sleep.

"I'm telling you, Jellal visited me during the night and he was definitely recovering from his self-torturing process. I believe he will accept our relationship now that he's been forgiven."

"But he can't show himself just now, can he?"

"Not yet. He said it's too soon and that Fairy Tail isn't ready to deal with him now."

Coward.

"We have dealt with Gajeel and Juvia as soon as they were defeated… I can't see the problem there."

True.

"You know how thick-headed Jellal can be."

Also true.

"Let's not disturb our guest's sleep any longer," Erza voice drove me chills all over.

Was I caught? Did they figure out I was pretending?

Erza decided to go on with the subject. "You really love this girl, don't you?"

For the sake of bluntness, Erza, please don't ask direct questions like that. My heart won't take much more of it.

"Like she was my daughter. I think I finally begin to understand what Ur felt for me back there."

I felt master's fingers stroking my hair, then my face and then I melted.

"Throughout my whole history in Fairy Tail, I was taught that friendship was the most important thing and that we should hold it dearly. Now that I think about it, and about how Ur raised me, I finally begin to uncover the hypocrisy behind this speech."

"Hypocrisy, why would you use this word?" The Titania's voice was coated with concern. "You sound a bit sad."

"Just a memory of Ur lingering in my mind," he confessed. "I say hypocrisy because we all said it over and over again, that we would get ourselves in the line of fire if needed to save our comrades and friends. We prided ourselves in our ability to be selfish."

Erza allowed herself a few seconds of silence before replying.

"I don't see how getting yourself in danger to protect someone else can be selfish."

Master's arm squeezed me in a protective manner. "I was saved by Ur when I was younger and with that, I lost my master."

"I was saved by Ultear when she sacrificed years of her life to return the light to my eyes. She lost a huge part of her life and I lost several hours of sleep."

"Juvia and I almost died together when we were put under a spell that would force us to fight each other. I saw Juvia turn her own body into blood to fill my veins and revive me. With that, I lost a whole future beside the woman I love."

"I attempted to use Iced Shell for at least three times, and for each time I tried, I was always thinking that I was doing that for my friends, to save them and keep them from being harmed."

Erza kept still and resisted the desire to interrupt for as long as she could, but it won her over eventually and she expressed herself as well.

"You're telling me that our sacrifice isn't an act of empathy, but rather an act of selfishness because we are ready to do whatever it takes for our friends, even sacrifice ourselves, but no one is ready to deal with our sacrifices."

"Exactly."

I closed my eyes tightly to prevent a single tear from rolling down. I knew I wouldn't regret choosing Gray as my mentor the moment I saw him, but hearing his words now gave me new strength and pride to call myself his apprentice.

"I think you're on the right track with this one, Gray," the redhead let escape. "As her master, you hold a great share of responsibility for this girl."

Master kissed my forehead and pulled me into a hug.

"She'll learn how to fight beside me, never ahead, or behind. We shouldn't think about risking our lives, we should make an effort to fight together, and if needed, die together, but before all that, I believe we should live together."

The noise ceased for a minute and I lost control over my feelings.

"She's crying in her sleep," Erza pointed out in disbelief. "Must be a bad dream," she placed a nursing hand over my head.

"Asuka, wake up, we're almost there."

Even his lies were gentle.

* * *

Remember what I said about this being the story before the story, or the story after the story, or even the story itself? This is a little fragment of theirs, but it is also the beginning of mine. I see it now, what makes it less, or more important to me, is how I decide to live.

I'm pretty sure you do remember me saying how I love my guild, my friends, my parents and my master. Was I able to show you how appealing they can be? How amazing they make me feel? This is why I will never grow tired of saying I love them, and that's why I never take the word lightly.

I hope to meet you again in a different story, friend, this one has reached its end.

Until next time.

* * *

 **A/N: Sorry for the little interaction between the couples, it was supposed to be like this. Like Asuka stated at the beginning, "this is the story of the strongest team", not the story of the main couples. I know, I know what some of you may be thinking, what about Levy and Gajeel? I apologize for the ones who like this pairing, I completely forgot about them and I have no excuse for this! I hope my Asuka didn't come out too cheeky as well, I loved writing her, so, please give me your thoughts about it.**

 **Some of you may have noticed, but I left two stories hanging and I don't have plans to return to them. I don't have the time I used to have when I wrote One Week Ago. I'll keep my stories short, like this one, it's either that or stop writing.**


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